* The latest plan to lay out the Defense Department's information technology related modernization goals comes five years after the last blueprint.

In the new plan, the department's chief information officer spells out a vision to create "a more secure, coordinated, seamless, transparent and cost-effective IT architecture that transforms data into actionable information and ensures dependable mission execution in the face of a persistent cyber threat."

The CIO's priorities are: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the three Cs --command, control and communications. The modernization goals are: innovate for competitive advantage; evolve cybersecurity for an agile and resilient defense posture; and cultivate talent for a ready digital workforce.

As for the latter, "competition for high quality, experienced digital workforce personnel is constant and increasingly aggressive," the...